Today, we drove from our overnight stop in Clayton, NM to our destination for the next four days, Taos. The drive took us ever higher through broad prairie. This is true “big sky” country, starkly beautiful in its vastness. Occasionally, we passed crumbling ruins of adobe farmhouses, along with collapsed wooden outbuildings. We drove through the old town of Cimmaron, famous for old-west lawlessness and cattle drives in the 19th century. The road then climbed steeply through thickly wooded Cimmaron Canyon, a second gear climb for our truck. The highway topped out at a 9,000 foot pass. We then descended into Taos, following our GPS to the address of the RV park where we had a space reserved.
All went well – we proceeded to the address, per the GPS. “You have arrived at your destination,” it confidently proclaimed. What the hell? No RV park!! The road ahead of us was unpaved, and there was no place to turn around. According to the GPS, we could easily find our way back to the main highway by making a series of turns on clearly mapped roads. After putting the truck into four wheel drive, we easily negotiated the unpaved road, and soon found pavement again. Following our trusty GPS, we came to a spot where we should have been able to make a right turn, and then enter the highway after a short distance. Whoops!! We were again on a dirt road, this time a very narrow one, and the right turn ahead just was not going to happen. There was no way to wrangle the 30 foot trailer through a 90 degree turn, with no room to swing out. (The trailer tracks outboard of the truck on right turns.) Just ahead of us was a huge sign that read, “dead end”. Oh, no!! What to do?? We were stuck. There was no way to back out, and seemingly no way to turn around due to an abundance of trees and obstructions. Altogether, our rig is about 50' long. Too long. Donna and I were scoping out the situation in more detail when an older Hispanic man approached from a nearby house. I told him we were stuck, and he said he thought he could help us. He pointed to a house directly ahead behind an open gate. There was a large yard in front that he thought was big enough for the trailer to turn around. He went up to the house, and knocked on the door. No one answered. Two very large dogs (thankfully non-aggressive) lounged on the porch. The man motioned for me to bring the trailer up. I put the truck back into four wheel drive, and it easily pulled the trailer up a steep hill . There was plenty of room to back it around and get out. Using our walkie-talkies, Donna guided me so the trailer could be turned around. Success!!!! (The dogs didn't budge. They just watched.)
The old man said that he was going into town to visit his daughter, and asked us to follow him to the RV park. Sure enough, he took us there. We intended to hail him, and reward him with a $20 bill for his efforts, but he waved to us and drove away. We noticed he had a Mexican license plate on his car. The kindness of a stranger made our day!!
Tomorrow, we begin our exploration of the area without the trailer. Thank goodness!!
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